Machine for banding cigars.



E. P. SHELDON. MACHINE POR BANDING CIGARS.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE e. 190s.

Patented J all. 10, 1911.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

w/ Messrs. W .Q r I j E. P.` SHELDON.

MACHINE FOR. BANDING GIGARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE e, 1908.

981,017, Patented Jan.10,1911.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. P. SHELDON. MACHINE POR BANDING CIGARS.

I y APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1908. v 981,01 7. Patented Jan.10,1911.

I3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

E. P. SHELDON.v MACHINE FOR BANDIN G OIGARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1908. 981,017. i l Patented Jan. 10,1911.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

E. P. SHELDON. MACHINE POR BANDING GIGARS. ABPLIOATIUN FILED JUNE e, 190e.

Patented Jan. 10, 1911.

13 SHEETS-BHBET 5.

E. P. SHELDON. MAGHINB Pon BANDING cIGARs.' APPLIGATVION FILED .TUNE 6, 1908.

\ Patented Jan. 10, 1911.

13 SHEETS-SHEBT 6.

N VE N 70H wm B Y MM A TTOHNE YS.

E. P. SHELDON. MACHINE POR BANDING GIGABS. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 6, 1908.

Patented Jamt 10, 1911.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

A Tron/v5 V5.

E. P. SHELDON. MACHINE FOR BANDING GIGARS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1908.

Patented Jan. 10,' 1911.

13 SHEETSSHEET 8.

nnen/1 l'o z www E. P. SHELDON. MACHINE PoR BANDING GIGAES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE mmsos.' 981 ,01 7

Patented Jan. 10, 1911.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 9.

:IIHIIIIIIIIIIIW llblllllrlllllllllllhln W/T/VE'SSES.

E. P. SHELDON. MACHINE POR BANDING GIGARS. JuleLIoATIoN FILED JUNE e, 190s.

Patented J an. 10, 1911.

wneaow 'l l wv To@ f W i @IMJ 61%.

E. P. SHELDON,

MACHINE FOR BANDING'CIGARS.

APPLIOA'MON FILED JUNE e, 1908.

Patented Jan. 10, 1911.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 11.

wh/Leases E. P. SHELDON.

MACHINE FOB. BANDING GIGARS.

APPLIOATIoN FILED JUNE 6, 190s.

981,017. Patented Jan.10, 1911.

13 SHEETB-SHEET 12.

E. P. SHELDON.

MACHINE 4POR BANDING GIGARS.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE e, 1908. 981,017.

Patented Jan. 10, 1911. I

13 SHEETS-SHEET 13.

EDWARD P. SHELDON, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR BANDING CIGAItS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led J'une 6, 1908. Serial No., 437,041.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD P. SBnLDoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Banding Cigars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to naohines designed to apply ornamental or other bands to cigars or other objects and its purpose, gcnerally speaking, is to provide a simple, rapid and efiicient means whereby cigars supplied to the machine in layers, taken from a stack or pile, may be furnished wit-h a band and delivred-from the machine in rows or layers for return to the box in which they were packed.

Machines have heretofore been constructed for banding cigars in their green state or before packing them in kthe boxes of the hereinafter described usual type and form, but` no successful machine has heretofore been made by which the cigars after being packed and allowed to dry in the box mayA be banded and re'-4 stored to the box in the same relative positions as to layers and individual members of layers that they occupied when taken from the box. In banding cigars of the Grade usually packed in boxes it has heretofore been the practice to band them entirely by hand.

My yinvention consists in the improved combinations 3of devices and the details of construction comprised in the machine shown in the accompanying drawings and which machine, generally speaking, embodies the following mechanisms and groups o mechanisms or devices: (a) A platform fo holding one or more rows or layers of the cigars and suitable means for transferring a row or layer to (b) a suitable conveyer, comprising, by preference, two members or elements, one of which runs continuously and receives the layer of cigars directly from the platform and the other an intermittently acting con veyer which feeds the cigars one at a time to position upon (o) a suitable collapsiblev support where it will be in position over the band fed on to a swinging or collapsible plate beneath the cigar by means of (d) mechanism for feeding the bands singly to psition beneath-the cigarvfrom a series or plle thereof mounted on a suitable holder; (e) means for forcing the cigar past the collapslble support and carrying the band with 1t and through a guide or Wra ping device for partially wrapping the band) around the cigar and for Vdelivering the cigar thus partlally wrapped to position in one of a series of pockets in (f) an intermittently operated conveyer comprising, preferably, a pocket wheel whereby the cigars are transferred to a delivery or exit conveyer; (g) means for gumming. and folding down the ends of the bands preferably after their delivery to a pocket of the wheel and in the operation of moving the pocket wheel forward to present a new pocket; (h) a conveyer for receiving the cigars after they have been retained in the pocket wheel a sufficient time to allow the gum to dry and delivering them in a layer upon (i) .a suitable 'delivery t-able from which they may be transferred in a vlayer to and repacked in a box; (j) means for oper- `atin the various parts intermittentl or contlnuousl and cordinating their unctions as will be hereinafter more particularly described, all said mechanisms being, by preference, operated from the same main or master shaft or vfrom counter shafts driven thereby.

The invention consists in the combinations of the various co-acting devices above enumerated withy their immediately associated elements and in the whole combination constituting the complete machine and also in the details of construction of the various devlces or elements enumerated.

Patented Jan. 10, 1'911,`

In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 l 8 is a detail View of the band or label elevator devices. Fig. 9 is a plan view' of the machine taken from the pocket wheel. Fig. 10 is an enlarged side eleva-tion and partial cigar lafter being placed in position over suitab the wrapper to the pocket wheel. Fig. '11

.is a plan of the gumming4 and folding devices. Fig. 12 is a plan partly in section of a portion of Fig. 11. Fig..13 is a s1de elevation of the same in retracted positlon. Fig. 14 shows the same moved forward to folddown one of the free'ends of the band. Fig. 15 shows the position of the parts at the y completion of the folding operation. Fig. 16 is a detail view of the pocket wheel operating means taken from the side of the machine. Fig. 17 is an end elevation `of the machine takenV from the left, a portion being removed. Fig., 18 is an end elevation of the removed portion'. Fig. 19 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the left-hand end of the machine.

havin@r various shafts and other devices. ly mountedjupon it in the requned relative positions.

. f 2 is the main or master shaft driven fro-m use `in banding cigars after being any suitable power and imparting motion of the required kind to the various devices by means of cams, gears, countershafts and actuating pawls in suitable ways, as for instance in the ways more particularly hereinafter described. .3, is 'a platform which receives the cigars and fromfwhich theyare transferred to the conve er whereby they are carried to position fbrbandinfr. A'layer of cigars in position for transfer to the conveyer is shown in Fig. 3. y

As my machine is intended especially for packed and allowed to dry in boxes, I provlde means for supporting all the cigars ina box in position on the platform and in a stack in which they will retain the relative position which they occupied in the box and also I provide a vertical movement of the platform whereby successive layers maybe brought into proper position fortransfer to the conveyer. As well known, boxes usually contain 25 cigars packed in two rows Aorlayers containing either 12 and 13 cigars respectively or,50 cigars packed in four rows of 12,13, 12 and 13 respectively. A

In 'order' that the cigars may be transferred from the box-to the table and dis? posed on the latter in a stack without disturbingl their relation to one another, it is preferable to provide a detachable tray 4, preferably, of thin sheet metal and which is ada tedto set in 'an opening in the surface of he platform 3 flush-with said'surface. This tray` h as a bottom and two ends projecting upward at right angles therefrom but isopen at its sides and top, thereby adapting it to' be inverted and inserted into a box of cigars by passing the elevated ends between the cigars and ends of the box and 1 is the main frame of the machine and up slde down and removing it, the cigars will be left in the tray in a stack without disturbing their relative positions and the bottom layer of the box will obviously be the top layer of the stack. When the tray is placedupon the platform 3 andthe latter is lowered to the, pro er position, the top layer of the stack w ich was the bottom layer of the box can be transferred as a layer to the conveyer by the o eration of a pusher 5 adapted to yengage t e horizontal layer and moving in the'direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, by means of a handle 6 secured to the stem 7, which stem works in suitable guides 8 and carries the pusher 5 at its forward end. After this transfer operation the pusher is moved back and the platform moved up to bring the next layer into position for enga ement by the pusher. This movement of te platform may be brought about by mechanism to be presently descrlbed and acting to bring the next layer into position by the time that the previously transferred layer has been moved forward out of the way.

Extending forward from a plate 9, carry- Iand lower bands or tapes of a tape conveyer which receives the layer offcigars and to thereby spread said bands and.\thereby p ermit the clgars to' be transferred to osltlon 1n the conveyer without injury. his transferV apparatus is suitably mounted upon a bracket 12,v as better shown in Fig. 18 and the table 3 is carried by'a vertically dependmg stem or rod working in guides 13 and provided with a rack 14 operated. by a sector 15 to raise and lower the table. The sector 15 is carried on a rock shaft 16 mounted in the frame of the machine. The Vshaft'. is rotated to raise the platform and bring a second layer into position for transferring to the tape conveyer.

For actuating `a ratchet wheel 17 secured to the shaft 16, I1 employ the followin means :4-18 is a rocking arm loose on sha t 16 and carryin at one end a pawl 19 pivoted thereon. aid pawl is moved intermittently to turn the wheel the distance of one or more teeth by the operation of a cam 20 operating upon cam rol1er21 carried by a rod 22, which is coupled tothe rocker arm 18. The connection of the rod 22 with the ,rocker arm 18 is through a pin capable of adjustment in a slot in the arm and of being set to anydesired point on a radial line extending from the axis of rotation of said arm and of being fixed in the adjusted position, thereby determining the number of teeth that shall betaken at each step of the wheel 17 when the armvis retracted by the action of a spring)- 23.- Spring 23 operates on a rod 24 secured to an arm projecting from the rocker arm 18 or from the hub thereof and is put under compression by the action of the cam 2() when the rocker is moved to carry the pawl 19 backwardrover the teeth of the Wheel 17. The purpose of the adj ustlnent-of the connect-ion to vary the throw of the rocker arm by the action of the cam is to provide for cigars of different thickness, it being obvious that the smaller the cigars the less the vertical movement required of the table vin order to bring a. new layer into position for transfer to the conveyer. A finer adjustment of the movementthat will be produced for each movement of the rocker .arm is provided by attaching to said arm a second pawl 25, which, when ad* justed for action upon the wheel, will act thereon a fraction of a tooth ahead of the pawl 19 and thereby permit the wheelhto be moved' at each operation of the arm a`distance equal to a number of whole-teeth, plus a fraction of a tooth, if desired. When the pawl 25 is not required to act, it may be held out of posit-ion for engaging lthe teeth of the wheel by means of a set screw 26 acting on a tail piece extending from. the pawl and itself carried on a support fixed on pawl 19 or on the arm 18. The cam 20 is driven from the main shaft 2 by means of a pinion on said shaft geared to a wheel 27 fixedon the cam shaft- 28. A pair of retaining pawls for the wheel 17 is shown at 29. When it is desired to lower the table 'to position for receiving a fresh stack of cigars, said retaining pawls lnay be lifted out of engagementwith the Wheels 17 by means of an arm lor lever 30 which acts also to lift the actuating pawls 25 and 19 out of engagementwith .thelsame wheels through the intervention of links 3l, 32. pivotally connected to an arm 33 on the shaft carrying the operating lever 30.' l

An adjust-able stop 34, (Fig. 18) isprovided for limiting the downward movement of the platform and thereby bringing the same to rest in proper position such that the top layer of the stack on the platform will be. properly disposed with regard to the pusher and the conveyor. Obviously, in the case of a 25 cigar stack the stop should be adjusted upward so that the platform will not be allowed to descend more than approximately one-half the distance that it does when a 50 cigar stack is to be placed onthe platform. The conveyer which feeds the cigars to position for banding mayhave for its continuously operating portion two tapes 35,: 35' adapted to grasp the cigars bytheir middle and feedthe same into the space betweenv two pairs Iof intermittently operating tapes 36, 36 adapted to take hold of cigars at op posite sides of the middle portion so as to leave the said middle portion free for application of the band. One pair of the latter tapes is indicated at 36 and the other pair at 36. I

The tapes 35, 35 run at their rear portion over drums upon shafts 37 which are geared together and which receive motion by a band drlve o erated from wheel 27 or other continuous y revolvingmember of the machine. Said wheel 27 gears to a wheel on shaft 38 carrying a pulley for the band 39 which runs over aband wheel on one of the shafts 37. The forward ends of the two t-apes 35, 35 run, if desired, over loose pulleys on vshafts for the intermittent drive tapes or on runnin tapes are run at somewhat higher speed t an the tapes 36, 36 to insure a constant supply to the latter and the presentation of a new cigar to the banding appliance at every step forward -of the tapes 36, 36. At their rear end where the tapes overlap, the tapes 36, 36 pass over drive pulleys carried' by shafts 40, the -lower one of which may be driven intermittently as will be presently described, and may be geared to theupper one through a suitable gear as represented. The forward ends of the tapes 36 yare carried over pulleys 41 mounted on forwardly projecting arms .42 and the lower air of tapes is carried similarly over puleys set in position to permit t e tapes to deliver the cigars one at a time to a pair of collapsible supports upon which they are tem orarily supported in position over the ban just prior to being forced' down upon the band, and then carried along. wit-h the band partially enwrapping it, to the devices by which the banding .is completed before it is carried away by the pocket wheel. The. mechanism for giving the forward step by step motion to the tapes 36, 36 may be driven direct from the main vshaft 2 and' may be constructed as shown in detail, Fig. 16. 43 1s a shaft carrying a gear meshing with a gear 44 on the main shaft 2 and 45 is a camdisk on shaft 43 having"projections adapted'to engage the roller mounted on-a lever 46. The latter is connected by a link 47 with a pawl `carrying arm 48, loosely mounted v.on the shaft 40 which carries the .drum for the rear end ofthe lower tapev 36". The pawl carrying arm 48 is provided with a pawl operating on a ratchet disk 49` fixed to the shaft. The roller is kept in en-i` gagement with the cam disk 45 andthe pawl is retracted to engage a fresh tooth of the ratchet 49 by means ofva spring 50 acting on 'a rod 51 which` is pivotally connected to .fa projection of. the .pawl carrying arm 48.

Obviously, other means might be employed for-giving an intermittent forward motion tov the tapes 36, 36 so as to convey cigars to a position-'for being banded and received by the pocket wheel. The collapsible sup ort which receives the cigars one at a time rom the conveyer tapes 36, 36', preferably consists of a pair of inged or pivoted plates or supports 52 mounted to rock or turn on a shaft 53 and normally held in horizontal position to receive the clgars by a spring 54. These supports are collapsed or turned down to .permit the cigarr to pass down to the poc et wheel or conveyer either by pressure upon theupper side of the cigar by a plun- )langer actin on its u er side or its movement may be assisted by pins or fingers adapted in the downward movement of the plunger to engage the forwardly projecting arm 56 extending from the rock shaft'57 to which the plate 55 is secured. These downwardly projecting fingers or pins may be carried at the ends of the cross-rod orshaft 58 .which reciprocates in a vertical line and.

su orts the lun er as will be presently delsiiiibed. Tlie piiis dr fingers are indicated at-f), Fig. 7 ,-and the arms extending from the. rock shaft 57 are also shown in said figure. A support' plate for that end of the label or band which is projected by the label orbarnd feed devices across plate 55 is shown at* 60. This plate has twok side plates 61 tapered or'conformed to properly engage the edges of vthe label and center the said free projected end. A'stop 62 is engaged by the forward end of the label and maybe adjusted and set by means ofv a screw fastening the plate 63 that carries the stop.I The label or bandfeedfmay be constructed as follows and preferably comprises two elements, a reciprocating intermittently acting band feed for feeding the bands one at a time from apile of bands, anda tape feed, preferably continuously acting which receives the bands one at a time and feeds them to position for-banding.

65 is a table working in suitable guides 66 and adapted to carry a pile of bands" 67. The table is raised by means of weight 68 connected to a cord passing 'over pulley 69 .attached to the end of a downwardly projecting stem 70 depending fromjthe'table. By this means the pile of labels is pressed upward for engagement by the feed device which may comprise a pivoted and serrated or roughened block o'r plate 71 shown in Fig.

6 in its forward position where it will have com leted its movement in transferrinolr the ltop and or label of the pile onlthe tabcle to under the cigar.v

The feed plate or block 71 has a horizontally slotted arm 72 by which it is hung loosely on a pin 73. A shaft 74, constantly revolvlng and receiving motion from the ltape feed or other part, through suitable gears, carries a crank arm 75 havlng a laterally projecting pin 76 which enters a vertical slot in the serrated feed plate 71. As the shaft 74 -revolves clockwise, the pin on the arm 75, by describin a circular path, first lifts the plate 71 rom the position shown, (said plate turning in the meantime on the support pin 73) then swings the same backward and causes it to slide on pin 73, and finally on completion of a half revolution drops the plate onto the pile of bands at the rear end thereofv and in position to feed the band forward as the crank arm 75 turns through its lower half revolution to the position shown in the drawing, Fig. 6.

A cutter knife 77, fixed on the frame, engages the upper portion of the pile of bands which are forced against it'by the action of the weight and penetrates the-upper band while its point enters the next band of the pile. The rear side of this cutter or point is sharpened so that, as the top band is fed forward, it slits the rear end of the band and frees the same for theforward movement, but retains the next band and prevents it from moving forward through the friction or locking together of the two upper bands due to friction or the nesting of the embossed marks ordesign upon the same.'

The vtwo tapes which receive the band an'd convey the same forward, finally depositing it upon the collapsible support, are shown at 78. They pass over pulleys or drums 79 which are ldriven from any'suitable revolving member of the machine, as for instance, from wheel 81,*geared to a spur wheel on one end-of a revolving sleeve 80, the o po# site end Aof which sleeve carries aspur w eel gearing to the shaft of one of the forward drums 79. Motion is transmitted vto other members of this 4tape feed` and to the serrated feed plate through any desred system of gearing, as for instance, pinionsand bevel gear, as indicated better in the plan `view, Fig. 2.

As this transmission gear may be indefinitelyyvaried and will be understood from the drawings, it need not b e described,

further in detail. j n l I As the label passes fromlthe feed .tapes 78, it is received and forced through a pair of guide plates 82 properly mounted in the down with the frame .of lthe machine and havingttheir e mouthor opening .at a

shown in Figs. `9 and 10. The edge of the' bottom plate may project slightly beyond the upper plate in a .rearwar 'd1rect1on to better adapt it to .receive .the label. e

The device for forcing the cigars, when superimposed upon the label, down throu h a guideA way to the 'pocket wheel, there partially infoldin the cigar with the label may comprise .a p nnger 83 mounted on `the cross bar 58 .which 'is inturn, x slides 84 vertically guided on the frame of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1. The plunger engages lthe top of the c1 ar Ywhen .the latter is `in position on the co lapsible support 452, 'by the blocks 83 or loxther suitable part of said plunger. At the forward slde of the plunger rises a plate 8.6 .that acts. as a stop against the entra-nce of another cigar when the plungeris de ressed and` at .its rear side there is a depen ing plate 87 which acts as a stop for the cigar being fed 1`nto position and. locates it in proper .position over 4the passage way through which 1t is forced by the downward movement of said plunger. 'The rear plate 87 may alsoact upon the support plates 52 to assist 1n collapsing the same, and said rear plate, as shown :in Fig. 7, is cut away at its center so as .not to interfere with the free movement of the rear' end of the label in being pushed cigar by the action of the plunger. f Motion may be communicated tothe plun- I ger directlyfroln the main shaft 2by means of a cam S8 working against, aV roller 89 carried by a rock shaft 90 from the en ds of which project arms 91 having at thelr eX- treme ends hooks 92 engaging the slides 84 through' pins` 93 carried by said slides,jas

1 with the .band engaged by the middle por better seen in Fig. 7. The-projections on the cams serve to lower the plunger.L .The plunger is raised by the actionv of a spring or springs 94 applied to reciprocating rods which are pivotally connected to the operat ing arm or arms 91, as shown in Fig. 5.`

A single cigar having been fed along and deposited upon the collapsible support, already described, so as to be directly in position over one o'f the pockets 95 inthe pocket wheel and in position over the middle part of the band which has been previously fed onto its support, the plunger in its de-^ scent will carry the cigar down together tion of said cigar and the attached fingers on the plunger will move orswin the band support sustaining the band at lts'middle out of the way, so that there will be no fric- 4the it toward the carried .by the .cylinder 103 l tray 104 supplied lward by which is .which extension has a fork tion thereon ,tending to displace it around axis of the cigar. ,As the plunger moves down carrying the cigar and the band with pocket, the band becomes partially enwrappedaround the cigar, its two free ends ,'-however, projecting vertically .upward as it it reaches this position, it lies between` the tu'o plates 97, 98, the former of which 1s a. s ring-'actuated follower, which follows up tie cigar las the pocket wheel moves forward and lcarries an arm presser, to fold down vthe last free end of the abel and press it down upon Vthe gummed surface of the other end.

- j rlhe folder or presser which first acts and foldsdown the previously gumrned end of the label .is indicated at 100.. It is supported `together with the gumming roller 101 upon the end of a motion in the bent` armv 1102 which receives manner to'be presently described, causingl it to `swing from-the posi-y tion shown in Fig. 13, where it engages, at its rear side, upon a revolving gum-supply forward to position shown in Fig. 14. The cylinder'` 103 revolves in a lwith the liquid gummy substance land is operated by any desired transmission lgear connected. to a revolving part of the machine. The arm 102 is swung intermittently to ca rrythe gumming roller 101 and folder 100 forward and backgeared up to the main shaft 2. The projections on the cani 107 operate upon one end of a rocking arm 109, while the other end of said arm is connected by a link 110 with an arni 111 extending fronia rock sl1'aft112 from whichprojects the arm 102 carrying the guniming device and folder and presser 100.

Thefollower 97 is a plate carried upon.

the forward end of a sprlng actuated and properly guided Arod 113. It is retracted on backward movement of the arm '102 by means ofan extension 102 straddling rod collar 113 on when the arm 113 and adaptedA to engage rod 113 as shown in` Fig. 11 moves backward. ward, however, it frees the rod and follower and leaves them to be acted upon by the follower-actuating spring 114 whichv moves said follower and causes it to press against pressesit against the opposite plate-98,v y which is a hinged plate, an

oriextension 99, operating as a folder and from said arm,

passes down intoV the pocket 95 and rests upon ,a support plate 96. When .a cam 107 xed to-a shaft 108 los As the arm moves forthe cigar as the same is carried forward by Y v the pocket wheel, and as will be presently described. In the first part of the forward movement of the arm 102, the gumming roller 101 comes into contact with and gums band or label and then the presser or folder 100 engages said free end and finally folds fthe outside of the left-hand free end of the f in Fig. 13, leaving the,outside'gummed 1 tion exposedfor contact by the other lfree itl down upon the cigar in the position shown porend" of the label. The carrier wheel or vpocket wheel with the cigarfis now, moved forward and the cigar, byen agin' Athe-Hap or plate 98can'yin thel ot er swings thezsamean carriesthe folder y99 rearwardly so as"to fold down the remaining free end upon@ the. gummed portion lof Vthe label,.at which time the presser y100` will -have partially receded 'through the rear movement of the arm 102. In the meantime,A the ci ar will -bei-kept in osition 'against the orward side of the lpoc et and -will be carried-along by the act1on of the follower which follows up the cigar as the; ocket-` wheel moves forward.y After the and has vbeen gummed -and folded around the-cigar and the endsv securely pressed down, .the pocket wheel, .revolving step by step, carries said cigar around to thelower part of the machine where Iit falls upon a ,curve'd .incline 115, best shown .in.lj`ig.V 1

Aand by which it is deliveredy to a conveyer and-.finally carried to the delivery table.

The pocket-wheel and thehxneans foropl kerating the same ste by'stepare-preferably I .as follows z--The unction of the pocket wheel is to hold or assist in holding the individualcigars whilethey are partially in folded by the bandand while'the lattervare being gummed and fastened and lthen to convey .them away tothe action'of the de;-

vices by which they are transferred to the deliverytable or platform, the cigars being retained len the pocket wheel a suflicient time to permit the gum to set before they are further handled vby the machinery.` The pockets 95 are formed between projections carried, respectively, by members ofV the wheel adjust-able clrcumferentially around the axis of rotation to .vary the. distance between the two projections 118 and 119 forming, respect-ively,the two sides of the ocket. As shown, in Fig7, the pocket whee really Y is constructed to hold the cigar in two separate pockets embracing the said cigar near its ends and leavin its central portion free for the operating o the gumming and fold-- ing device. 116 isthe shaft carrying the of 'one ofthe wheels'117, as indicated ig.V4

older "99,

at proper intervals.

6 or,.if desired, a stud securedtobnemember and screw-threaded 'at its en'dmay pass through a slot in the other and be provided (with a nut 122 which will fasten the several members together and cause them to revolve as one when the nut. 122, Fig. 5, is'` screwed down .ti ht. By this `meansthe width of the poc ets l95 may obviousl 4be varied,

by the dissince that width' is determin 4 tance between the projections 118 and.119. As the pocketV wheel revolves step by step it -carries the ci around through approximately a haf revolution of the wheel vjtovv the conveyer to4 be presently described.

During thisy movement the cigars are retained in the pocketwheel by a' curved incline or ide 115 which prevents the cigars from fallilng out of the pockets as they are carried along, and-which terminates at its lower end in position kto deliver thecigar to the traveling bands of.a conveyr, said bands being, two in number, one a ve the other, andbeing ada lted to receive the cigar between them, Aas wi 'be presently described.

The mechanism for producing the inter i mittent `motion of the pocket wheel may be constructed and operated 'as follows See Fig. 16.) Inasmuch as the' said'wheel is of considerable size and weight,so'that its momentum would tend to carry it forward at.

each impulse beyond the position where it should stop, in order to properly receive the individual cigars, the sai mechanism is preferably constructed with an automatic lock or stop adapted to free the wheel while v it is-receivmg the impulse but to automatically engage and stop the forward motion of saidwheel accurately at the proper point.

wheel 124 secured to the shaft 1 16 carrying the pocket wheel and moves the samel forward rstep by step. Pawl 123 is mounted on an arm 125 loose on shaft 116 and receives having a cam formed to operate the pawl Such a cam is shown at 127, Fig. 16. 'It may be` mounted 'upon the main shaft 2 and transmit motion to the arm 125 and 'impulse pawl through a link 128 which carriesa roller 126 that is engaged by the cam and which link is supported on the shaft 2 by a fork, as clearly shown.' 129 is an ordinary spring-actuated retaining pawl engaging the teeth of wheel 124 and serving to prevent backward movement thereof. 130

is the locking dog or pawl which checks the 4forward motion of the wheel under the im- 123 is an impulse pawlwhichoperates on a its motion from -an`y desired rotating shaft pulse and acquired momentumand 'stops it inthe proper position. In order that said locking dog mayA free the wheel during-the forward impulse by pawl 123 at each step or feed movement, it 1s provided lwith a stud orl tooth 131 adaptedto ride upon a curved arm- 132 having at 133 a projection which, as it passes under the "tooth 131,1Wi1l -raisetlie pawl 130 and free the Wheel for an instant at the beginning of the impulse or just as thel toot-l1 of )awl 123: begins to act, and immediately after freeing the pawl 130, will allow it to drop back into engagement with the periphery of thefwheel 124, so that it will ook the same, at the `conclusion of t-heforward impulse by engaging tooth of the wheel. The arm,132 carrylng projection 133 is mounted upon 'or' attached to the rocki mg arm 125, as shown so as to move with the pawl 123 and in the forward or impulse cam 127 may be produced by a spring134 acting on a rod coupled at l135 to the larm 125, as clearly shown in Fig. 16.

The conveyer which receives the cigars from the pocket wheel comprises, preferably, a pair of bands 136.l carried at their'portio'ns nearest the pocket Wheel byp'ulleys 137 v and rreceiving motion at-.their portions traveling on pulleys 138 in any desired manner as, for instance, by a system of gears, parts of which are shown in Figs. 1 and 19 and which system receives motion from any desired shaft vof the machine, as for instance, the

' main shaft 2. For this purpose, shaft 2 may leo be provided with gear Wheel 140 'operating through the systcmof gears 139 to turn the shaft carrying the lower pulley 13S, the latter shaft being geared up to the shaft of 'the upon pulley 138 in obvious manner.

The pulleys which carry the'portions of the couvcyer bands 136- whch receive the cigars from the pocket wheel are carried on arms 141 projecting horizontally forward from rock shafts 142, so4 that the said arms being fastened together the continuously moving bands may be moved down at the right moment to take the cigar out of the pocket wheel as it is moved forward to present thc banded cigar to said convcyer bands. By this action of the conveyer bands iii `grasping and positively withdrawing the cigar from the pocket, the cigar is prevented from dropping from the pocket and turning over and isfed into and through the-space between the delivery bands in the same position in which it is received by and carried along by the pocket Wheel. The reciprocating movement at the receiving end of the delivery conveyer, which thus takes place, may be produced by turning one of the rock shafts 142, the rocking movement being imparted to an arm 143 secured to said shaft yand receiving motion through a link 144 from a suitable cam 145.

Said cain may position which it `brought up close ferred to a tilting platform 3 lby meansof ocket another usher 5 or by other devices. -By

tilting t ,e platform the one layer lat la time into t e box.f Obviously that layer of' cigars which was thelower layer in the box whose contents have been transferredfto the tray and thence one layer at a vtime to theconveyer at the top' of the machine will' be the tirst layer to be received on the delivery platform 3. The re- 'maining layersl'will be received in succes'- sionvr but in reverse order to that in which they are packed in the box, so that obviously, as said layers are slipped one layer ata time from the platform 3into the box they will berepacked therein in the same order that they occupied before banding. each individual cigar willI occupy the same iad in the box in Vwhich 1t was packed.

In order that the cigars may be ybrought to the .delivery platform 3 in groups having 12 or 13 1n each group,v as required, to make the proper number fonthc successive layers, respectively, I provide ia grouping or spacing device in the nature of a stop which temporarily l'stops-the forward movement of the cigars as they'are passed along by the deliveryconveyer, thus causing them'to be against one another, although they are spaced apart in being taken from the pocket Wheel. When the pro )er number 12 or 13, as the case kmay be, llas been assembled in the group this spacing or grouping device frees the group 'and 'the saine is passed along as a layer to the platform 3. As soon as the last one of the layer or group passes the position of the grouping oi' spacing device, the latter is moved again into position to detain the first. cigar of the next layer and the succeeding'cigars of that layer bunch up againstthe first one'as they are fed forward by the flexible delivery bands,` after which the grouping or spacing device is moved before. This grouping or spacing device comprises substantially a pair of fingers 146, as shown better in Figs. 19 and 17, which Afingers are mounted upon arm extending from the rock shaft 147 and are adaptedfto be raised and lowered from position on op- `posite sides of the convcye band for the again to free the group asmay be slipped,

Moreover, 

